


The Timelines Trifled With

by AmberRunnel



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Banter, Cisco's famous in the future, Secret Identities, Time Travel, Time Wraiths, vague tags to avoid spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23321452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberRunnel/pseuds/AmberRunnel
Summary: It's a normal day in STAR Labs when two young time-traveling speedsters crash land in the pipeline, chased relentlessly by time wraiths. The Flash does what he can to help them, but there's something about the pair that seems familiar...
Relationships: Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow
Kudos: 17





	The Timelines Trifled With

"Cisco," Caitlin said warily, stepping warily into her lab, "What did you do with my bio-scanner?" 

He grinned through a candy bar from where he sat in the Cortex, sweeping his hand towards the ribbon-wrapped device placed on her immaculately organized table. "I just thought, since your birthday is coming up..."

She sighed, shaking her head. "I thought I told you _not_ to fiddle with my medical equipment after the time the x-ray scanner started developing its own personality. Yet here we are. What's this one gonna do? Burst into song whenever I pick it up?"

Cisco gave her an exaggerated grumpy look, crossing his arms. "No. Since my technical creativity clearly isn't appreciated here, I limited myself to logistical improvements only." He held his arms up. "Scan me and be amazed."

Caitlin rolled her eyes but complied. She waited in trepidation for the readings to pop up on the monitoring screen, expecting the worst. Instead, she found a fully colorized, upgraded system - clearer graphs, detailed, organized information, and instant sync to the other tools in her lab. She stared at the screen in wide-eyed surprise as Cisco grinned from ear-to-ear. "Your verdict, ma'am?"

"Cisco, this is...this is amazing," she said earnestly. "How did you improve the pulse sensibility? I thought the detectors were already at their maximum capacity." 

"The detectors sucked," Cisco mumbled. "I built my own. I was careful, but you might wanna check for bugs before Barry lands himself in trouble again."

"Really, Cisco?" Barry protested from behind him, provoking Cisco into jumping up in comical shock. "Happy to see you have such faith in my abilities."

"In all fairness, you do get yourself injured every other week," Caitlin pointed out, smiling as she walked over to sit by Cisco. 

"Well, I'm trying my best, but-" Barry never got to finish, because the lab's alarm flared up without warning, halting him in his tracks. "Cisco?" he warned.

Cisco was already at his computer station, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Pipeline sensors are picking up tachyonic distortion in the pipeline."

"Time travelers?" Barry surmised, and dashed off without waiting for the answer.

"Not just that," Cisco finished over the comms, slightly miffed at being cut off. "Time wraiths."

Barry slowed to a stop in the pipeline just as the time breach flickered to life. Out tumbled two speedsters, lightning flickering behind them as one crashed to the floor. The wraith was just behind them, screeching with a terrifying intensity as it lunged forward. Just before it could close its withered hands around one, Barry ran forward and punched right through the creature.

It shook off his blow and screeched again, careening towards him. Barry started around the pipeline, keeping the wraith focused on him as Caitlin helped the injured speedsters. As soon as they were out of the way Frost came back with the sound amplifier Cisco and Hartley had developed, earplugs in her ears. He nodded at her and phased out of the way, letting the sound waves tear the creature apart.

He waited expectantly for more to come, but the pipeline was silent.

He sped Caitlin back to her lab, keeping his suit on. The taller one of the pair was standing in the Cortex, the mask of her blue and black suit clutched in her hands. Dark brown hair tumbled to her shoulders, and her piercing eyes stared right through him. "You're the Flash," she said in disbelief. She looked young, around the same age as his daughter Nora had been. 

Barry nodded once, casting a look around for the second one. A younger boy was sitting on the medical cot of Caitlin's lab, eager eyes scanning the lab's equipment as he talked excitedly to Caitlin. 

"When are we?" she asked warily. 

"2020," Barry told her. "STAR Labs, Central City. What happened?"

She shifted her feet, scanning the screens hung up on the wall. "Time traveling went wrong, a wraith pushed us out of the time stream as we were trying to get back home." She shook her head as if to clear it, turning back to Barry. "I'm Mel, and my brother's name is Thade. Sorry for the sudden intrusion, but..."

"It's fine," Barry said immediately. "I've had time travel mix-ups before."

Cisco walked back into the Cortex, yawning. "Satellite's clear, and Hartley's add-ons haven't picked up anything either."

A look of utter astonishment crossed Mel's face upon seeing him. "Wait - you're Cisco Ramon!"

Cisco stopped in his tracks, frowning in confusion as he tilted his head at her. "Yes...and how exactly do you know that?"

"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed. "You're the pioneer in meta-human technologies, you revolutionized the entire industry! Everyone with half a brain cell's worth in engineering knows who you are! I can't believe I actually have the chance to meet you!"

Cisco looked helplessly at Barry, who only shrugged with a smile on his face. "Are we talking about the same Cisco Ramon?" he asked warily, pointing at himself.

Mel rolled her eyes. "Please. You're -" she stopped. "Wait, it's 2020. You haven't invented that yet."

"No trifling with timelines," Barry reminded her, to be answered with a short nod. 

Cisco had seemingly stopped functioning.

"I think you broke him," Barry said cheerfully. "Cisco?"

"How am I the famous one?" Cisco demanded suddenly. "I didn't sign up for this, it was supposed to be him!" He pointed at Barry.

Barry sighed. "Ignore him," he said to Mel. "How's your brother doing?"

Caitlin had never had a patient more fascinated with what she was doing that Thade was. Two speedster-grade painkillers and he was watching her stitch up his own arm with meticulous concentration.

"I'm learning to be a doctor when I grow up," he told her earnestly, shaking his blond hair out of his eyes as he peered around the lab.

"Carefully not to jostle your arm," Caitlin reminded him.

"Sorry," he immediately apologized. "I've just never seen so much medical stuff in one place - is that an x-ray machine?"

She nodded.

"I've never seen one, those fell out of use fifty years ago," he told her innocently.

"Timeline!" Mel yelled from the Cortex before he could continue.

"Sorry!"

By the time Caitlin had finished stitching his arm, she'd gotten three more sorrys and a rather curious conversation about the efficiency of her bio-scanner, considering she was speaking to someone who couldn't be older than fifteen. It struck her that there was something familiar about him and the way he spoke, but she brushed it off. 

When she finally released Thade to join his sister in the Cortex, Mel and Cisco were embroiled in a restless back-and-forth about common quantum anomalies and something she didn't quite understand, and Cisco looked absolutely delighted. Thade had to run around his sister a few times before she finally broke off the conversation.

She faced Barry with a sudden realization as she looked around. "This is 2020," she muttered, and her eyes widened. "You're the first Flash, aren't you? You got your powers from the accelerator explosion - you're Barry Allen!"

Barry looked briefly surprised before pulling off his cowl, and Caitlin could tell he was coming to the same conclusion as her. It struck Cisco as well - something was oddly familiar about the pair.

"Guess there's not much use in secret identities when dealing with the future, is there?" he said. "And, before you leave - you never told us your full names."

Mel grinned disarmingly, completely unaware of the implications of her next words. "Meloni," she told him brightly. "Meloni and Thaddeus Thawne."

**Author's Note:**

> Might post a second chapter.


End file.
